Climbing competition is threatening to stagnate, and rather than let things slow down, the IFSC is going to roll out new hold and route technology to keep things fresh.
New Deception Tech
Have you ever pulled on a glassy sloper that only have a very thin useable band of friction? We all have. And with how grey natural rocks are, it really camouflages where white chalk and black boot rubber are. Leaning into the natural wonders, the IFSC and 360Holds are proud to bring you the following:
If competitors can still find the useable portions of these holds, we’re just going to turn all the lights off and have the judges watch with nightvision goggles.
New Mobility Tech
Not constraining themselves to the reality of outdoor climbing, we’re also looking forward to trialing new mobile hold technology, with the following spinning holds! Make sure you leave it with the holds in the worst position, to foil the competitor that comes after you!
New Speed Tech
No, we’re not talking about “actual” speed climbing. We’re talking about solving two scourges that have infiltrated competitive bouldering in recent years; slabs, and sport climbers. There are a lot of reasons to dislike slab, but we dislike most that competitors, especially in redpoint rounds, will gain a position and just park for literal minutes on end. And sport climbers manage the same, even when its not a slab – I once saw video of Jesse Grupper spending what felt like 3 minutes hanging off a V12 roof, looking perfectly content, and I’m pretty sure Anastasia Sanders spent three and a half of her four allotted minutes to flash a finals boulder at the 2022 National Championships. Well folks, I’ve got a bad case of undiagnosed ADHD and nobody got time for that, so we’re going to implement “motivators” – stay parked in one place too long……
New Friable Hold Tech
A return to reality, with holds that resemble the real thing. We have developed a set of two-piece holds with embedded magnets – pull out instead of down, and they pop loose. Sometimes, this yields a newer better edge, but most times, the useable part will be even smaller. Slip the routesetters a few brews, and perhaps we’ll throw a few chalk Xs on potentially suspect holds.
Anti-Brooke Tech
Look at the footage of Hachioji 2023. Something is missing. As time goes on the field gets tighter and tighter, and adjusting holds 4 inches back and forth wasn’t good enough to fine tune to find the spaces between “everyone will flash” to “this isn’t possible”. In those moments, screws were used, skipping the t-nuts and allowing more setting freedom. While holes in holes were (are?) legal ala Dmitri’s “The Mono”, athletes we’re allowed to stick their fingers in t-nut holes in the wall. So few thought about standing in those holes until Brooke Raboutou did it very clearly at an event. And then another. And others still I’m sure.
Peep these walls at Hachioji – smooth as a Ken doll. (Spoiler Alert: didn’t work, Brooke took home a Gold)
New Finish Tech
For our final note on bouldering rounds, we’re going to introduce a novel concept….. top-outs. We all know a boulder with a drop off finish is a sub-par boulder (COME AT ME ESPERANZA). Thats right. Forget “matching” some hold and “showing control” by some arbitrary metric. No, we’re doing this the right way – you get a ‘Top’ when you’re ON TOP of the boulder, two feet, standing up. I mean, even the company that ruined 5.10 figured it out:
Lead Climbing – One Minor Rule Change
You have to hang your own draws in the onsight rounds. That’s all.
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In Closing
On a serious note, the IFSC has gotten some fairly vigorous feedback on their Instagram over what I’ll call the Zebra Holds, but their inclusion in the Finals at Hachioji didn’t seem to slow the slab-masters down. I don’t actually hate all the ideas above, and while I think the IFSC has a responsibility to be the Official (read: serious) face of competition climbing, I think there is a lot of room out there for people to relax and have a little fun with things. Trampoline stars, Rope Swings, novelty holds – The So Ill Showdown once had a metal folding chair you had to mount to gain the finish hold. Heck, even novelty-themed comps have their place, whether it be competitors setting for themselves and each other (ala Tierra Boulder Battle), competitors sessioning ahead of time so they can pull even harder in finals (a la Legends Only), or just campusing everything (Beastmaker International Footless Festival). All this being said, there is plenty of room to keep the crowds interested in viewing competitions while still keeping competitors on their toes. Contending with adversity and the unknown ultimately what drives most climbers, and these updates are pushing the boundaries of the physical and mental capacity of the athletes as well as the entertainment. It’s like watching the “final girl” in your favorite horror movie; you saw the proverbial Chekov’s climbing hold when you tuned in and now you’re shouting “don’t go in there!” as they reach for it totally unaware, but they still manage to pull off a victory. And that leaves room for the sequel where the setters get twice as twisted and devious, and you can bet we will line up to watch.
